Edward I

Edward I (1239–1307), king of England (1272–1307). When Edward came to the throne he was already an experienced general and politician. He had played the major role in the defeat of Simon de Montfort in 1265 and had taken a leading role in his father's council before departing on crusade in 1270. The first 20 years of the reign were remarkably successful, marked by a great series of statutes, which largely proceeded in response to the grievances of his subjects. These same years also saw Edward's scotching of Welsh independence, following his campaigns of 1277 and 1282–3.

The early 1290s proved the turning‐point in the reign and in Edward's fortunes. It culminated in the crisis of 1297, but it is a measure of Edward's authority that although rebellion threatened, none actually rose in revolt.

On his tomb in Westminster abbey Edward is described famously as the ‘hammer of the Scots’. But this is far from the truth. He acted as arbitrator between the claimants to the Scottish throne (the Great Cause of 1291–2), as feudal overlord of the kingdom. The throne was adjudged to John Balliol, and Edward's attempts to secure Balliol and exercise his overlordship proved to be the beginning of the long‐drawn‐out Scottish War of Independence. The campaign of 1296 was intended to be as decisive as the conquest of Wales. Edward was victorious, and symbolically removed the ‘stone of destiny’ from Scone to Westminster abbey. But it was only a temporary settlement. He lived to see Robert Bruce crowned king in 1306, and it demonstrates his dogged determination that he should die leading yet another expedition to Scotland in 1307.

Edward ‘Longshanks’ was physically impressive. He stood head and shoulders above most men. As a young man, in particular, he was conspicuous for his enthusiasm for tournaments, and his devotion to the crusading cause is especially notable. But he could be cruel, as when he imprisoned Bruce's sister Mary, the countess of Buchan, in apparently inhuman conditions in 1306. Yet he was devoted to his family. In particular, his love and fondness for his first queen, Eleanor of Castile, is legendary and the marriage was both happy and fruitful. He grieved for her deeply, and in the famous Eleanor crosses Edward constructed the most elaborate series of monuments ever created for an English queen or king.